Welcome to the mysterious world of Forest finances. This is the first in what will hopefully be regular updates from the accounts…and perhaps one day it won’t be so mysterious after all.

The state of the Forest’s finances is a source of constant debate, which is fair enough considering the huge efforts and love people have consistently put into the place. And although money isn’t the primary aim, it does matter to some extent, and so it’s definitely better to have information out there.

So here we are…talking money, Forest-style.

Well the news is that October and November have proved to be quite difficult months for the Forest’s finances.

Over the last year we have been able to build up a healthy resource but at our financial year’s end we faced a large VAT bill. Our overall VAT payment across this last year (the Forest’s financial year runs from 1st October to 30th September) was £18871.92. A fair proportion of this was paid in October.

Unfortunately, this has now accounted for a large proportion of our savings, and so we are now facing a period of very controlled spending.

We should also be careful with our equipment, not giving away too much food, closing doors in cold weather, respecting our building, paying byob…fixing things costs money, buying stock costs money…taking care of these small things will make a big difference.

Volunteers and KMs have helped build the Forest resources well in this last year, and there are no major problems there financially. You guys have been great.

However we are looking at making savings in various areas and we are also looking at other possible sources of funding. Ideas in the pipeline and near fruition include:

The Forest Shop – (and online shop!)
Donations
More grants for more projects

Remember the Forest is completely independent and self-funded.
We don’t get any money from the council or any government department.
Some people think this isn’t the case but I can assure you it’s true.

We all want our independence to continue. We all want our workshops, events, and projects to continue. And of course we need money to help keep it that way.

If you want to, you can donate…we will be very, very grateful. But there’s no pressure at all. Entirely up to you. Speak to a kitchen manager.
If donating money is not an option, then donating time is even more valuable...come and sign up for a volunteer shift in the kitchen.

Also come and check out the Forest shop – every Sunday from this weekend. It's gonna be spectacular!.

If you want to see a full set of our last accounts, which cover the period 13th August 2003 to 30th September 2004, I can send you a copy. Hard copy, word or pdf, whichever you prefer.

Our next set of accounts, covering this last year, will be ready in the next month or two. Once it’s ready I’ll let you know. I’ll write again soon with more developments.

Also if you have any questions I’ll be happy to discuss with you. Thanks for reading.